Starbucks offering workers free legal advice on Trump’s travel freeze

After pledging to hire 10,000 refugees last month, the coffee behemoth Starbucks is offering employees free legal advice on President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban.

Company executives announced in a letter sent to workers Monday that the coffee brand is partnering with the corporate advisory company Ernst & Young to offer all Starbucks employees and their families advice to "help navigate immigration issues and get answers in these uncertain times," CNN reported. Ernst & Young provides immigration advisory services to companies as one of their regular corporate offerings.

Starbucks has also started reaching out to employees working with visas in the countries affected by Trump's executive action.

"Our [employees] and their families have questions about travel and immigration status, so we wanted to provide them with a newly developed Immigration Advisory Program to meet their needs," a spokesperson for Starbucks told TheBlaze in an email. "This is a free resource available to full-time and part-time Starbucks partners and their families."

Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz is just one of many major business executives who have come out against Trump's controversial executive action. Following the rollout of the order last month, Starbucks announced it would hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years in stores in 75 different countries.

Responding to backlash from some who criticized the move, and urged Starbucks to hire Americans, members of the company's Armed Forces Network reminded critics that Schultz pledged in 2013 to hire 10,000 veterans.

"We respect honest debate and the freedom of expression. Many of us served to protect that very right. Some of our brothers and sisters died protecting it," the group said in a statement. "But to those who would suggest Starbucks is not committed to hiring veterans, we are here to say: Check your facts, Starbucks is already there."

According to Starbucks' website, the coffee brand is ahead of schedule, having already hired more than 8,000 veterans and spouses. The goal is to reach 10,000 by 2018.

Here is the full letter Starbucks sent to all its employees earlier this week, per Fortune:

Partners,

After the recent Executive Order placing restrictions on immigration and the subsequent legal challenges to its enforcement, we understand many partners still have questions about what this means for them. As you saw in Howard’s message, we are putting our partners first and leading with humanity.

Our Partner Resources team has and will continue to proactively reach out to partners who we know are impacted by the Executive Order, and any related actions, to connect them to the legal resources needed for their individual scenarios. In addition, we are proud to announce a new service in partnership with the immigration arm of Ernst & Young; the Immigration Advisor Program. This service will allow all partners and family members to help navigate immigration issues and get answers in these uncertain times. If you are a partner or a family member and you have questions about immigration, travel restrictions, or how the Executive Order and any related actions may otherwise impact you, please access this legal support and guidance from the Global Mobility and Immigration team by clicking on this link: ******* or opening the attached email draft.

The team will connect you with the right resources to answer your questions and provide clarity. This team, supported by legal counsel, will stay on top of all the latest developments and will continue to be available as a source for the most up-to-date and accurate information available.